Checkpoint 
by Alex Baburin

Recently I played in a tournament in Germany and there at a
bookstall I had yet another chance to see how many chess books
are around. If publishers do not slow down, this column might
become my most secure job!

All kidding aside, in this month's Checkpoint we will look at three
new books. I would like to start with the most recent of them:
Bronstein on the King's Indian by GM David Bronstein (with Ken
Neat) Everyman Chess 1999, SoftcoverFigurine Algebraic
Notation, 208pp. $19.95

For me certain names in chess are associated with high quality and
David Bronstein's is definitely one of them. He is one of the most
original chess thinkers of this century and his classic work on the
1953 Candidates tournament in Zurich is one of my very favorite
books. Thus, I was anxious to see this new book by Bronstein,
which he apparently wrote in collaboration with translator and
editor Ken Neat. From its title I guessed that the book was unusual,
as we normally have either game collections or books on a
particular opening. Yet this book combines both, a rather original
approach, as are most of Bronstein's ideas. 

The book starts with a short Introduction where Bronstein explains
why, in his opinion, the King's Indian Defense is the best (most
interesting) opening to play for both Black and White. From the
Introduction and the first chapter, called 'A brief journey into the
past', Bronstein cites three interesting games (not his own) played
with the KID; it soon becomes clear that the book is aimed not at
highly rated or inexperienced players. Bronstein does not go into
much analysis, commenting only on key positions. This is true
throughout the book and becomes particularly evident in Chapter
Two, which is called 'The basic functions of the two armies' and in
Chapter Three, called 'Standard moves in the King's Indian'. 

In the latter, Bronstein lists 36 standard moves for the black pieces
and 24 key moves for the black pawns, followed by 36 standard
moves for the white pieces and 24 key moves for the white pawns.
Here is one example of authors' treatment of standard moves in the
KID: "Nd7-c5. When the white d-pawn has advanced or been
exchanged, c5 is often a good post for the knight, from where it
attacks e4, d3, b3 and a4." Then the authors illustrate their point
with the following example: (See Diagram) 

This position arose in the game Winter-Bronstein, England-USSR
radio match 1946 after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 Nc3 Nbd7 4 Nf3 e5 5 g3
g6 6 Bg2 Bg7 7 0-0 0-0 8 e4 c6 9 b3 exd4 10 Nxd4 Re8 11 Bb2.
Bronstein writes: "Black plays 11...Nd7-c5, attacking the e4 pawn,
and also planning a queenside offensive with ...a7-a5-a4." Later in
the book you can find that game and thus get a better
understanding about how certain standard moves work in the KID.
As I already mentioned, there are 36 piece moves and 24 pawn
moves listed for each side. Some of Black's other standard moves
given are: Na6-c7, Bg7-f8, Qd8-e7, Rf8-f7, etc. 

Nevertheless, while this concept may sound interesting, I seriously
doubt that a newcomer to the KID can learn the opening just by
getting familiar with such typical moves in this fashion. To me it
looks similar to an attempt to learn a foreign language simply by
memorizing a few dozen words - initially it might sound like you
know the language, but eventually it will become apparent that you
do not possess a proper command of it. Therefore this approach
employed in Chapter 3 did not impress me. Some readers might
learn useful patterns here, but chances are high that most readers
will just get confused - to learn patterns properly one needs more
explanation than given in this chapter.

In Chapter 4 Bronstein and Neat offer some test positions. Readers
can check the answers at the end of the book and also see those
games, where such positions occurred, later in the book. This is a
very useful chapter, but I have a feeling that these test positions
would be quite difficult to solve for the audience, at which the
books presumably. For example let's consider one test position:
(See Diagram) 

This position occurred in the game Najdorf-Bronstein, Buenos
Aires 1954 after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 Nc3 Nbd7 4 Nf3 c6 5 e4 e5 6
Be2 Be7 7 0-0 0-0 8 Qc2 Re8 9 Rd1 Qc7 10 b3 Nf8 11 h3 Ng6 12
Be3 h6 13 Bf1. The authors write: "Black's position is cramped. Is
there any way for him to relieve the pressure?". The answer is
13...Nh7, with the idea of ...Ng5. I think that this maneuver is not
that easy to find for someone for whom the authors felt necessary
to explain that the function of the g8 knight is "to move to f6,
making way for the king to castle" (page 19). Also, on the same
page 19, we read that the function of the f8 bishop is "to move to
g7..." and yet on the last diagram we see this bishop on e7. Strictly
speaking, we have a different opening here and again this may
confuse less experienced players. Perhaps this chapter should be
placed at the end of the book, as then even beginners should be
able to answer most of the questions correctly after seeing Chapter
5 - 'The King's Indian in action', which constitutes the main and
most valuable part of the book.

In Chapter 5 Bronstein gives 50 annotated games. Usually he
played Black, but there are also games where he played White.
Bronstein, unlikely many other famous grandmasters, does not
have problems with his ego and therefore he gives games which he
lost if he believes that they are interesting. These 50 games are
divided into a few groups, depending on the pawn structure that
arose in them. Bronstein starts off with what he calls 'restrained
set-up by White' - when White does not put his pawn on e4 early.
Then the authors present games where White played d4xe5. After
this they give many games where White closed the center with
d4-d5. Two other typical formations that are considered occur
when White maintains central tension and when Black employs
Benoni set-ups. The latter section again features some games
which are pure Benonis and strictly speaking may not really belong
in this book. This chapter concludes with examples where White
castles queenside. A word of warning: this division is rather rough
and you should not expect to learn how to play against a particular
line of the King's Indian Defense by just reading this book.
Bronstein on the King's Indian is not an opening book as we know
them, and it won't give you a complete picture of the KID,
although Bronstein's excellent games will surely help you to
understand this opening better.

Bronstein does not try to exhaust any position with overly lengthy
analysis, preferring instead to highlight main ideas and give only
some concrete variations. In his opinion, chess offers a lot of room
for psychological battle and one should not try to find an 'absolute'
truth. Here is one typical example: after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 d6 3 Nc3 g6
4 g3 Bg7 5 Bg2 0-0 6 e4 e5 7 d5 (See Diagram)

in the game Ravinsky-Bronstein, Moscow 1953, Black played
7...c5. Bronstein gives the following comment: "In the opening I
played differently from usual - after the closing of the centre I
immediately replied 7...c5. I was interested to see what would
happen in this case." Bronstein's comments are very interesting to
read and personally I enjoyed his historical references, when he
said a few words about his opponent - this makes the game, which
is often too heavily analyzed, more human.

To me the main attraction of this book is Bronstein's ideas. I am
sure that many readers will enjoy the book, although, to avoid
being disappointed, one should realize that this is not an opening
manual. This book does not pretend to be a 'complete King's
Indian' - instead it shows some very interesting games with the
King's Indian Defense and gives Bronstein's very original thoughts
on this opening. 60 additional games, given in Chapter 6, are very
useful too. This book is not very systematic and it has some
annoying typos (e.g., on the second diagram on page 101 White's
pawn on g3 is missing), but I will surely keep a copy of this book
in my library! 

My assessment of this book: ***.

The Gambit Guide to the Torre Attack by FM Graham Burgess,
1999 Gambit Publications, Softcover, Figurine Algebraic Notation,
192pp., $22.95

The system with d2-d4, Ng1-f3 and Bc1-g5, which is called the
Torre Attack after Mexican GM Carlos Torre, is quite popular
nowadays and the appearance of this new book reflects this fact.
This system has the attraction that it avoids many openings like the
Nimzo-Indian, Queen's Indian and King's Indian. From somewhat
of an off-beat line, enjoyed by players like Petrosian, Spassky and
Miles, it has become a fashionable weapon employed by many
players, particularly at the club level. I am sure that they will
welcome Burgess' book, as it gives very clear guidance how to play
the Torre. 

First the author gives reasons why one might like to play the Torre
and cites some typical games (including the famous game Torre-
Lasker, Moscow 1925) in the chapter called 'Strategic
Introduction'. Although the book is written for White, Burgess does
not pretend that White is always on top in this opening and one
indication of this is that he shows the 7th game of the match
Spassky-Petrosian, Moscow 1966, which Petrosian won brilliantly
with Black. After the introduction, Burgess considers particular
lines of the Torre, beginning with the Torre Poisoned Pawn
Variation - 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5 c5 4 e3 Qb6. 

Here I would like to point out that perhaps this chapter should start
with the position arising after 5 Nbd2 Qxb2. Indeed, the move 5
Qc1, which he also discusses here, leads to totally different
positions, compared to the gambit line with 5 Nbd2. The quite line
with 5 Qc1 could be then covered in chapter 3, called 'Early
Deviations'. Burgess believes that Black should look seriously into
the line with 4...Qb6, if he wants to sharpen the play. White usually
gets very decent compensation for the sacrificed pawn, for
example: (See Diagram)

This position arose in the game Nen.Ristic-Psakhis, Groningen
1995 after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5 c5 4 e3 Qb6 5 Nbd2 Qxb2 6
Bd3 Qc3 7 0-0 d5 8 Re1 cxd4 9 Bxf6 gxf6 10 e4. Here Burgess
basically stops the variation and shows that after 10...Qa5 11 Nb3
Qd8 12 exd5 Qxd5 13 Nfxd4 Nd7 14 c4 Qg5 15 Nb5 White
obtained a clear advantage. This is typical for the book in general -
usually Burgess stops variations somewhere between move 10 and
15, giving some sample line after that. This is probably quite
adequate for his target audience, which is presumably a big army of
club chess players. However, it would be appropriate to give more
explanation in most of his final positions. 

For example in this case Burgess gives a diagram after 8 Re1,
while it might be better to give a diagram also after 10 e4 and
explain that Black's problem lies in his lack of development,
awkward position of his queen and his compromised pawn
structure. I guess that most readers would appreciate this in
addition to actual moves. I have another comment on line - Burgess
gives '!' to 10 e4, saying that "this is the key improvement in this
line". Yet, Psakhis, annotating his game for ChessBase, gave 9
Bxf6! as a novelty and did not award any mark to the move 10 e4. I
think that Psakhis is right here - 9 Bxf6! (and not 10 e4) constitutes
the new idea, while the follow-up with 10 e4 is rather logical, if not
forced. 

Let have a look at another line from the same chapter - 1 d4 Nf6 2
Nf3 e6 3 Bg5 c5 4 e3 Qb6 5 Nbd2 Qxb2 6 Bd3 d5 7 Bxf6 gxf6 8
c4 Qc3 9 Be2 Nc6 10 Rc1 Qa3 11 cxd5 exd5 12 dxc5 Bxc5 13 0-0
Be6 14 Nb3 Bb6 (See Diagram)

Here Burgess gives a diagram and says that after 15 Nfd4 "Varnusz
regards this position as unclear." All very nice, but were I to try to
learn to play this line, I would rather prefer to know why this
position is unclear and how to play it. Instead of providing the
reader with such information, Burgess just states that after 15
Bd3?! Qxa2 16 Nfd4 Nxd4 17 Nxd4 Ke7 18 Ra1? Qb2 19 Qa4
Rac8 20 Rab1 Qc3 21 Rb3 Qc5 White did not get enough
compensation in McCambridge-Browne, USA-ch Estes Park 1985.
If there are no new important games played in this line since 1985,
perhaps it does not merit a detailed discussion and priority should
be given to what Black plays more often?

The main part of the book is devoted to what Burgess calls 'the
Torre Jungle' (chapters 5-7). It arises after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5
c5 4 e3. This is a bit confusing, as here Black can play 4...Qb6,
which is considered in a previous chapter. Perhaps, the author
should have distinguished these different lines more clearly. This
chapter starts with typical moves for White and Black, for
example: "0-0. Often useful, but should never be played without
careful thought, as White's kingside attacking chances are reduced"
or "...cxd4. Inadvisable, as half-open e-file is of great use for
White." Here we can see a certain similarity to the idea of showing
standard moves, which Bronstein gives in his book (reviewed
above). However, here it's more in order, as Burgess show fewer
moves and they are related to a much narrower (more concrete)
situation.

After the Introduction, Burgess gives actual theory of the 4... d5
line in chapter 6. Here (and in some other places in the book) he
uses graphical illustrations (arrows, etc.) very cleverly, which
makes understanding of the key ideas easier. Burgess also gives
many concrete variations, illustrating play in the Torre. Actually, I
feel that sometimes he gives too many lines. One example: (See
Diagram)

This position occurs after 1 d4 Nf6 2 Nf3 e6 3 Bg5 c5 4 e3 d5 5
Nbd2 Be7 6 c3 Nbd7 7 Bd3 b6 8 0-0 0-0 and it has the index of
C3431. When I see such indexes, I always get very frustrated and a
bit scared. First, I feel that my poor memory will not be able to
cope with such vast information. Secondly, I remember that
somebody promised me that the Torre Attack would not require too
much theoretical knowledge and thus I suspect that I am missing
something here. Things get worse, as in the diagrammed position
Burgess gives 9 different moves, apart from the main line of 9 Ne5.
Was this really necessary? I don't think so; the readers would be
better off knowing the main line and ideas, perhaps illustrated by
2-3 lines. But to have 9 extra lines is an over-kill in my opinion.

The Torre Attack can be played against 1...Nf6 and 2...g6, as well
as against 2...b6 and this is one of the main attractions of this
system. These lines are considered in chapters 10, 11 and 12.
Chapter 13 is devoted to the line 1 d4 d5 2 Nf3 c6 3 Bg5 and
2...Nf6 3 Bg5, which can be regarded as anti-Slav and anti-QGA
lines accordingly. Thus, this book is more or less a repertoire book,
providing the reader with a suitable system against almost any of
Black's defenses.

This book is quite good, but I feel that Burgess could have done a
better job by cutting some of the sidelines and providing more
explanations in critical positions of the main lines.
My assessment of this book: ***. 

The Queen's Indian Defence by GM Bogdan Lalic, 1996 Cadogan,
Figurine Algebraic Notation, Softcover, 208 pages, $22.95

This book deals with a very popular opening arising after 1 d4 Nf6
2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6 (See Diagram)

It's a bit strange that I only received this book from the publishers
recently - clearly it should have been reviewed two or three years
ago. Unfortunately, time does a lot of damage to the books like this
- new ideas emerge every month, lines go out of fashion very
quickly and those games, which seemed to be model a while ago,
look like anachronism now. The book is built around 105
annotated games and concentrates on the systems with 4 g3 and 4
a3, although 4 Bf4 (Miles' Variation) and 4 e3, as well as 4 Nc3
Bb4 5 Qb3 (Seirawan's Line), are covered too. If I understand
Lalic's intentions correctly, his book is aimed at rather experienced
players, as he does not give too much explanation of the basic
ideas of the opening, while giving some heavy analysis and
extensive references. Alas, such players are more likely to benefit
from studying the latest games from databases and magazines,
rather than from this book, as in the last 3 years the theory of
certain lines, for example, the line 4 a3 Ba6 and 4 g3 Ba6, has
change quite a lot. I would like to give just one example: in the line
4 a3 Bb7 5 Nc3 d5 Lalic illustrates the move 6 Qc2 (D) with 7
games, which implies that 6 Qc2 is one of the main moves for
White here. (See Diagram)

Lalic then cites various moves, such as 6...dxc4, 6...Nbd7 and
6...Be7. He also mentions 6...c5, but gives only 7 cxd5 Nxd5,
while nowadays Black usually plays 7...cxd4!, equalizing
comfortably. This has made the move 6 Qc2 much less popular. Of
course, Lalic could not know this in 1996, but I give this example
mainly to illustrate my point: if a book is aimed at highly rated
players and does not contain much explanation, its value drops
very quickly. New ideas emerge all the time and books like this,
even written diligently (e.g., Lalic gives mostly recent games),
cannot cope with the pace of the modern theory. This book is too
advanced for most club players and is too old for those, who
regularly monitor opening theory. Therefore I would be very
careful, buying this book in 1999, although the games, shown here
are of high quality and the annotations are not bad.
My assessment of this book: ***.